Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 Source: Associated Press (Wire) Copyright: 2003 Associated Press Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/27 Author: Vanessa Arrington, Associated Press Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Plan+Colombia Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/colombia.htm COLOMBIAN DRUG SPRAYING FLIGHTS SUSPENDED BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A Colombian court ordered the government Thursday to suspend its U.S.-backed drug crop eradication program until more is known about the effects the sprayed herbicide on human health and the environment. Government officials said they would appeal the ruling, and press on with spraying in the meantime. The ruling was announced Thursday in a lawsuit filed by lawyer Claudia Sampedro, who said she was pleased the tribunal recognized Colombians' right to a "clean environment." "These policies were drawn up without first studying effects on health and the environment," said Sampedro, chosen to represent environmentalists, human rights activists and small farmers opposed to the spraying program. Colombian and U.S. officials have given repeated assurances that the chemical used, a variant of the popular backyard fertilizer Roundup, is ecologically harmless and safe to humans. They say the eradication push only targets large-scale coca and opium plantations operated by drug traffickers. On Thursday, Agricultural Minister Carlos Gustavo Cano said that the spraying of illicit drug crops is an essential tool in the government's fight against rampant drug trafficking helping to fuel Colombia's 39-year civil war. "We respect (the ruling) but we don't agree with it," Cano told reporters. "So the government will take the necessary actions to appeal it." The ruling comes six weeks after the nation's Constitutional Court ordered the government to consult Indian communities about spraying drug crops on their reservations, which make up 28 percent of the nation's territory. The government was told to hold meetings with Indian communities for three months, but can continue spraying during that period. Officials say the spraying flights have led to a massive drop in coca cultivation. According to a survey carried out by the United Nations Drug Control Program, Colombia had 252,217 acres planted in coca, the base ingredient for cocaine, last year, down from 357,818 acres in 2001. The White House Drug Policy Office said Colombia had 12,103 acres of opium poppy planted last year, compared with 15,932 acres in 2001. Despite the declines in drug crop acreage, Colombia continues to produce most of the world's cocaine and the majority of heroin consumed in the United States. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk